President Muhammadu Buhari was left bemused and apparently embarrassed on Friday after efforts to perform the yearly ritual of releasing pigeons to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony did not go as anticipated.
President Buhari was seen trying on multiple occasions to release the birds but they only ended up sitting on the cage, managing to fly away only when they deemed it fit.
Many Nigerians who reacted to the incident on social media, adjudged the action of the birds to be a reflection of the widespread disunity and worsening security situation in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari releases the #ArmedForcesRemembranceDay pigeons. pic.twitter.com/1t0omo5JGy
— Channels Television (@channelstv) January 15, 2021
Some Nigerians believe it’s a reflection of the current state of the country while some others likened it Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka’s statement to former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, where the Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry said a dove refusing to fly was an indication that God had abandoned Jonathan.
The ritual of releasing doves is to commemorate the life of a departed loved one and is common at significant events like funerals or memorials. It also signifies peace.
Studies show that domesticated doves which are used to living in cages are not always keen on flying.
The Vatican stopped the ritual in 2014 when Pope Francis released two birds that would not fly out of the window of the papal apartment and required several attempts to get the birds to fly out over a crowd of spectators.
In 2010, the same had also transpired at the Abia State capital, Umuahia, when former Governor Theodore Orji could not get the pigeons to fly on the Armed Forces Remembrance Day commemoration for the state’s fallen heroes.
